Date:	Friday 26 November 1993
Time:	17:34:48
Type:	Aérospatiale AS 355F-1
Owner/operator:	Airwork (NZ) Ltd, opf New Zealand Police
Registration:	ZK-HIT
MSN:	5176
Year of manufacture:	1982
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3
Other fatalities:	1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Category:	Accident
Location:	Auckland Central, Auckland -   New Zealand
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Unknown
Departure airport:	NZMB
Destination airport:
Investigating agency:	TAIC
Confidence Rating:	Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities

Narrative:
On 26 November 1993, the New Zealand Police helicopter Eagle collided mid-air with a Piper Cherokee traffic-spotting plane. The accident killed all three helicopter occupants, including Sergeant Lindsay Eion Grant "Lou" Grant (39) and Constable Alastair Alan Sampson (27), and the sole occupant of the plane. Debris fell over a wide area including Symonds Street, Karangahape Road, Queen Street and the Auckland Southern Motorway; one motorist received moderate facial burns. The southbound plane struck the westbound helicopter at a low altitude, possibly around 150m, under VFR. Witnesses thought the plane veered sharply at the last second, and seeing a wing sheer off after impact. The accident happened during peak traffic while commuters were travelling home on Friday evening, and quickly resulted in gridlock, delaying emergency services.

1. Investigation 93-020. Transport Accident Investigation Commission
2. Last message of Eagle boss. North Shore Times Advertiser. 30 November 1993; pp. 1,3
3. Death plane's close call with helicopter. New Zealand Herald. 10 February 2006
4. Four killed in mid-air collision. Otago Daily Times. 27 November 1993 pages 1,2
5. Our history. Auckland Operational Support

6. https://taic.org.nz/inquiries?SkinSrc=[G]skins%2ftaicAviation%2fskin_aviation

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
21-Oct-2008 01:13	XLerate	Added
05-May-2009 03:27	XLerate	Updated
31-Oct-2011 13:27	Anon.	Updated [Source]
17-Aug-2014 06:17	Aerossurance	Updated [Source]
18-Feb-2022 10:14	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]
30-May-2023 12:58	Ron Averes	Updated [[Location]]